Yes — if your restaurant sells or supplies alcohol, it needs a premises licence, a Designated Premises Supervisor, and at least one personal licence holder. Wine with dinner counts exactly the same as pints at a bar. Here is the complete licensing picture for restaurants in England and Wales, including the rules people most often get wrong.
The three things every licensed restaurant needs
- A premises licence authorising the sale of alcohol at your address — obtained from the local council. See our premises licence application guide or let our team handle the whole application.
- A Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) — one named individual responsible for day-to-day alcohol sales, who must hold a personal licence. Most restaurateurs take the DPS award alongside the APLH.
- Authorised staff — every sale must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder. Waiting staff don’t each need a licence, but the authorisation should be documented. The Level 2 APLH is the qualification behind all of this.
Common restaurant myths, corrected
“We only serve wine with food, so the rules are lighter”
Not since 2005. The old Part IV “restaurant licence” regime is long gone — under the Licensing Act 2003 there is one type of authorisation, and a Michelin-starred dining room is licensed exactly like a high-street bar. You can, however, offer conditions in your operating schedule (like alcohol only with table meals) that make the application less contentious.
“BYOB means we don’t need any licence”
True only if you genuinely never sell or supply alcohol. A BYOB policy where customers bring their own and you charge nothing alcohol-related generally needs no licence. Charging corkage is widely treated as a service charge rather than a sale of alcohol, but check your council’s view — and see our full BYOB guide.
“Children can’t come in because we serve alcohol”
Restaurants are exactly where the law expects children to be. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult in premises used exclusively or primarily for alcohol (a pub bar), but a restaurant serving meals is not that. 16- and 17-year-olds may even drink beer, wine or cider with a table meal when bought by an accompanying adult — the one exception to the under-18 rule.
What it costs and how long it takes
- Premises licence application: council fee £100–£635 by rateable value band, plus ~£300 newspaper notice, plus professional fees if handled for you.
- Annual premises licence fee: £70–£350 by band, every year — miss it and the licence is suspended.
- Personal licence for your DPS: course from around £100 plus £37 council fee — full breakdown here.
- Timescale: allow 6–8 weeks for the premises licence; the 28-day public consultation is fixed by law.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to serve alcohol at a supper club or pop-up?
If alcohol is sold — including “included in the ticket price” — yes. For occasional events a Temporary Event Notice is usually the right tool rather than a premises licence.
Does my head waiter need a personal licence?
No — only the DPS must hold one. But a second licence holder covers holidays and staff turnover, and many restaurants put all supervisors through the course.
Can I lose the licence if staff serve an underage diner?
Yes — underage sales are the fastest route to a review. Train front-of-house on Challenge 25 (our AUASP course covers it) and log every refusal.
Opening or taking over a restaurant? We handle premises licence applications end to end, and your DPS can be qualified this week with the online APLH.
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